Roadway barrier

ABSTRACT

A trestle-type roadway barrier has a horizontally elongated main body formed of a pair of back-to-back sheets of plastic which are provided with reinforcing ribs. Visibility of the device is enhanced by incorporating fluorescent, phosphorescent and/or reflective materials in the polymer; by providing a faceted surface; and/or by locating a light source inside the translucent barricade. The main body is supported by a plurality of legs, each of which has an upper section pivotally attached to the main body and a lower section which is angularly adjustable with respect to the upper section. When the barricade is in its erect position, the upper portion of each leg is generally vertical and retained in place by projections on the horizontal main body. These projections are displacable inwardly under force to permit rotation of the upper portion of the legs to a collapsed position where they lie generally parallel to the main body. The lower portion of each leg includes a concentric helical spring which minimizes damage thereto when the barrier is struck by a vehicle.

Rizzo ROADWAY BARRIER [76] Inventor: Rudolph R. Rizzo, 55 W. Main St.,

1 'Frostburg, Md. 21532 [22] Filed: Mar. 22, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 236,728

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,524,324 8/1970 MlklOS 61/48 1,450,869 4/1923 Reinelt 182/153 2,721,060 10/1955 Morain 256/64 3,015,804 1/1962 Nunn 116/63 P x 132,656 10/1872 Gorman 182/153 1.747.643 2/1930 Oliver 248/160 x 2,096,275 10/1937 Doyle... 40/145 A 2,701,127 2/1955 1511166.... 1 256/64 2,896,918 7/1959 Ward 256/64 2,997,978 8 1961 Clutter... 256/64 x 3,368,518 2/1968 Anthony 116/63 P 3,396,639 LeMelSOH 94/15 Primary Examiner-Dennis L. Taylor Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Browne, Beveridge, De- Grandi & Kline [5 7] ABSTRACT A trestle-type roadway barrier has a horizontally elongated main body formed of a pair of back-to-back sheets of plastic which are provided with reinforcing ribs. Visibility of the device is enhanced by incorporating fluorescent, phosphorescent and/or reflective materials in the polymer; by providing a faceted surface; and/or by locating a light source inside the translucent barricade. The main body is supported by a plurality of legs, each of which 'has an upper section pivotally attached to the main body and a lower section which is angularly adjustable with respect to the upper section. When the barricade is in its erect position, the upper portion of each leg is generally vertical and retained in place by projections on the horizontal main body. These projections are displacable inwardly under force to permit rotation of the upper portion of the legs to a collapsed position where they lie generally parallel to the main body. The lower portion of each leg includes a concentric helical spring which minimizes damage thereto when the barrier is struck by a vehicle.

10 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEUMARZB I974 SHEET 1 [1f 2 FIG PATENTED MR 2 61974 SHEET 2 (IF 8 WGQ 1 ROADWAY BARRIER This invention relates to a novel trestle-type highway barrier which has a unique construction for its horizontal main body. a novel connection between theleg assemblies to the main body and a new type of leg construction. g

In the past, there have been many types of roadway barriers which utilize a trestle design. Such barriers in common usage today are usually formed of rigid materials such as sheet metal and angle iron which renders them highly vulnerable to damage when struck by vehicles. This vulnerability is also a characteristic of conventional wooden barriers.

One object of this invention is to provide a new type of roadway barrier which is relatively inexpensive and is capable of sustaining impact forces which would permanently damage other types of barriers currently in use. 1 I Another object is to provide a simple yet effective type of construction for the horizontal main body-of a trestle barrier. and which also may provide the means for holding the legs in their upright positions.

A further object is to provide a low cost barricade which has high nighttime visibility.

Another object is to provide a barrier which has an uncomplicated connection between the leg and main body which will permit relative movement between these elements when struck by a vehicle.

Another object of the invention is to utilize,in the leg of a roadway barrier, a resilient section at the elevation where suchde vicesare customarily struck by vehicles, thereby avoiding any permanent damage to the leg structure when the barrier is struck. The satisfaction of these and other objects will be apparent upon studying the accompanying disclosure.

The device of this invention has a relatively simple construction by virtue of the connection means be tween the leg and the main body, with this connection means permitting movement of the leg from a collapsed position where an upper leg portion is-generally horizontal to an erected position where the upper leg portion is generally vertical. The means for releasably holding the upper leg portion in the erected position is preferably the main body itself which is formed ofa resilient material and provided with a recess which receives the upper leg portion to hold it in the erected position. v g

In order to permit the barrier to be used on uneven terrain, there is an adjustable connection means between the upper leg portion and lower leg portion which permits variations in the obtuse angle formed thereby. A helical spring in the lower leg portion is located at a height where such devices are normally struck by vehicles, so that the leg will not be permanently damaged upon impact. v

Still another feature of the disclosed device is the presence of a multi-faceted surface which enhances its light reflective properties. This faceted pattern may be on the external surface of barriers made of an externally reflective materials, and on the interior surface for a barrier which has a transparent wall with an internally reflective surface.

These and other features contribute to the utility of the roadway barrier of this invention which isdescribed in the remaining portions of this specification.

In the drawings, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus in its erected position;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view showing the leg construction and the manner of attaching the legs to the main body of the device;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view as seen along the lines 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view in a vertical plane as seen along the line 4-4 in FIG. 2. This illustrates the construction of the main body, as well as certain elements in the connection between the main body and the legs;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are front and sectional views, respectively, of a sheet material for the barricade which will reflect light from its exterior surface; and,

FIGS. 7 and 8 are rear and sectional views, respectively, of a prismatic reflector sheet which may be used in the manufacture of the barricades.

As shown in FIG. 1, the barrier of this invention has a horizontally elongated main body 2 supported by a plurality of leg assemblies 4 which are of substantially identical construction. The main body is formed of an organic polymer such as high density polyethylene, and may be formed by any conventional process such as molding or vacuum forming. Each of these sheets has upper and lower reinforcing ribs 6., end reinforcing ribs 8 anda plurality of diagonal reinforcing ribs 10. The direction of inclination of the diagonal ribs 10 appears the same when looking at either side of the barrier, i.e., downwardly and to the right, so that there is not a coincidence between these diagonal reinforcing ribs 10 on the opposite sides of the main body 2.

Both sheets may be formed simultaneously from a single flat piece of plastic and then folded back-toback.

The outer peripheral edges of the sheets which form the main body 2 are united by adhesive or solvent bonding,as are the planar areas lying between the various reinforcing ribs. This aspect of the construction is best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5 wherein it will be observed that tubular sections are formed by the upperand lower reinforcing ribs of the two back-to-back sheets.

1 The leg assemblies 4 are connected to the main body by a bolt 12 which provides a pivotal connection about a transverse horizontal axis.

Each of the leg assemblies 4 includes a tubular upper leg portion 14 which is attached to the main body 2 by the bolt 12, and a lower leg portion 16 which is connectedto the upper leg portion 114 by an adjustable joint 18. Thelower leg portion 16 has a resilient section inthe form of a helical spring 20 which is located at a height where impact forces from vehicles usually occur so that when a vehicle strikes the leg assembly, the helical spring 20 will yield and the leg assembly will remain undamaged. The lower leg portion 16 may be filled with a weighting material such as sand or concrete to improve its stability. A resilient section in the lower leg portion 16 may be provided in various manners; for example, it may be an accordian or bellows-like section of resilient plastic or rubber tubing.

The joint 18 is of conventional construction and involves a bifurcated lower end 21 on the upper leg portion 14. This bifurcated lower end receives a tongue 23 which is provided at the upper end of the leg portion 16, and these elements are held together by a bolt and a wing nut 22. When the wing nut is loosened, the lower leg portion 16 is freely pivotal about the bolt with respect to the upper leg portion 14. However, when the wing nut 22 is tightened, the elements frictionally engage each other to hold the joint in its adjusted position with the respective leg portions lying at the selected obtuse angle.

There is a releasable connection between the leg assembly and the main body 2 of the barrier, in the sense that any forces directed parallel to the axis of the main body 2 will tend to pivot the upper leg portion 14 about the bolt 12. When in its normal and erect position, the upper leg portion 14 is kept in the position shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 by virtue of the projections 24 formed integrally with the main body 2. As best seen in FIG. 3, the projections 24 lie on opposite sides of the upper leg portions 12 and tend to prevent pivotal movement of the upper leg portions about the bolt 12. The use of a resilient material for the main body permits the projections 24 to yield inwardly when sufficient force is applied to pivot the upper leg portions 14. Of course it is possible to provide a recess for receiving the upper leg portion, so that theleg-restraining projection is the adjacent surface of the reinforcing rib. In either instance, the upper leg portions 14 may be considered as lying 'in an indentation of the resilient main body 2.

When it is desired to collapse the erected barrier shown in FIG. 1, a workman simply forces the upper leg portions 14 to pivot about the bolt 12 until the upper leg portions 14 are oriented generally parallel to the main body 2. The wing nuts 22 are loosened and the lower leg portions 16 are pivoted until they, too, lie generally parallel to the main body 2. In this position, the device occupies little space and can easily be transported to a storage area or to another location where it may be erected by reversing the procedure outlined above.

Visibility of the main body 2 may be enhanced by incorporating fluorescent, phosphorescent and/or reflective materials in the polymer.

Since visibility at night is essential for barricades in many locations, a light source may be located within a translucent or transparent main body 2. Also, it is preferred that the main body 2 of the barricade be of a reflective material. The reflective properties may be produced by making the main body of plastic which is formulated with reflective bodies such as small glass spheres,v and/or by providing a faceted surface on the plastic sheets used in making the main body.

A faceted surface which reflects incident light from its exterior surface is shown in FIGS. and 6 where the outermost portions are diagonally oriented ridges. These ridges intersect to divide the exterior surface of the plastic sheet into a plurality of diamond-shaped indentations, each of which has four inclined faces. Each face is oriented at 45 to the plane defined by the ridges, and is opposed to another face so that light striking one face will be reflected off the exterior surface of the sheet, on to the opposed face and then back toward the light source. The reflected light will have the same color of the light source.

The surface pattern of FIGS. 5 and 6 may be initially formed in the sheet or it may be embossed in the sheet so that the interior surface thereof will have a pattern of diamond-based raised pyramids.

A prismatic type of reflector which reflects the light off its interior surface is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The interior surface is formed of a plurality of raised portions which have three faces which rise to an apex 26.

Light passes through the wall of this body and is reflected back by the three faces in a manner well known in the reflector art. The interior surface of the reflective sheet may be silvered or colored, and the light reflected back to the light source will acquire the color of the transparent sheet or the color of the interior coating thereon.

Those familiar with the field of this invention will appreciate that there are many modifications to the sole disclosed embodiment which will possess many of the advantages and utilize one or more of the inventive features described in this specification. Therefore, it is emphasized that the invention does not encompass only the disclosed embodiment, but also covers modifications and variations thereto which fall within the spirit and scope of the claims which follow.

I claim:

1. A roadway barrier having a main body which is elongated along a horizontal axis, said main body being transparent and having an integral faceted lightreflective surface on the interior face thereof, said main body being formed of back-to-back bodies of sheet material which have reinforcing ribs formed therein, legs for supporting said main body, each of said legs being pivotally attached to said main body for movement from a collapsed position to an erected position, said main body having indentations for receiving a portion of each of the legs to retain the respective legs in their erected position.

2. The barrier of claim 1 wherein the main body is formed of back-to-back bodies of sheet material which have reinforcing ribs formed therein.

3. The barrier of claim 1 wherein the main body is made of resilient material, each of said indentations in the resilient main body forming releasable means for holding a leg in its erected position, said releasable means being releasable upon impact to permit movement between the leg and the main body to prevent damage to the leg when struck by vehicular traffic.

4. The barrier of claim 1 wherein each said leg has a resilient section which possesses greater resiliency than the remainder of the leg, the resilient section of the leg lying at an elevation most susceptible to being struck by vehicular traffic.

5. A roadway barrier having a main body of resilient material which is elongated along a horizontal axis, said main body having an integral faceted light-reflective surface, legs pivotally connected to the main body for supporting the main body, releasable connector means connecting the legs to the main body, said main body having indentations therein forming the releasable connector means, said legs being pivotally movable out of said indentations upon impact to prevent damage to the legs when they are struck by vehicular traffic.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein each of said legs has a resilient section which possesses greater resiliency than the remainder of the leg.

7. The barrier of claim 6 wherein the resilient section is a helical spring which is axially aligned with the leg.

transparent and the integral faceted light-reflective surface is on the interior face thereof.

10. The barrier of claim 5 formed of a pair of backto-back sheets of plastic having reinforcing ribs formed 

1. A roadway barrier having a main body which is elongated along a horizontal axis, said main body being transparent and having an integral faceted light-reflective surface on the interior face thereof, said main body being formed of back-to-back bodies of sheet material which have reinforcing ribs formed therein, legs for supporting said main body, each of said legs being pivotally attached to said main body for movement from a collapsed position to an erected position, said main body having indentations for receiving a portion of each of the legs to retain the respective legs in their erected position.
 2. The barrier of claim 1 wherein the main body is formed of back-to-back bodies of sheet material which have reinforcing ribs formed therein.
 3. The barrier of claim 1 wherein the main body is made of resilient material, each of said indentations in the resilient main body forming releasable means for holding a leg in its erected position, said releasable means being releasable upon impact to permit movement between the leg and the main body to prevent damage to the leg when struck by vehicular traffic.
 4. The barrier of claim 1 wherein each said leg has a resilient section which possesses greater resiliency than the remainder of the leg, the resilient section of the leg lying at an elevation most susceptible to being struck by vehicular traffic.
 5. A roadway barrier having a main body of resilient material which is elongated along a horizontal axis, said main body having an integral faceted light-reflective surface, legs pivotally connected to the main body for supporting the main body, releasable connector means connecting the legs to the main body, said main body having indentations therein forming the releasable connector means, said legs being pivotally movable out of said indentations upon impact to prevent damage to the legs when they are struck by vehicular traffic.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein each of said legs has a resilient section which possesses greater resiliency than the remainder of the leg.
 7. The barrier of claim 6 wherein the resilient section is a helical spring which is axially aligned with the leg.
 8. The barrier of claim 6 wherein the resilient section lies at an elevation most susceptible to being struck by vehicular traffic.
 9. The barrier of claim 5 wherein the main body is transparent and the integral faceted light-reflective surface is on the interior face thereof.
 10. The barrier of claim 5 formed of a pair of back-to-back sheets of plastic having reinforcing ribs formed therein. 